Al-ḥadīth al-mutawātir:1 that which is narrated, on the basis of sensation rather than pure reason,2 by a number whose collusion upon falsehood is rendered impossible by ordinary custom;3 to which some have added: "and it has been narrated from a like number, from beginning to end."4
The first definition pertains to a mutawātir that has but a single layer (ṭabaqa); the second pertains to a mutawātir that has two layers or more.5
The mutawātir yields necessary, immediate knowledge6 in every case.7
By its very nature, the mutawātir does not require the moral uprightness (ʿadāla) of its narrators.8
Derived from tawātur, literally to follow consecutively (as in tawātur al-maṭr: the rain fell in succession). [tr.] ↩
Al-Samʿānī said in Qawāṭiʿ al-Adilla (1/328): "Report (khabar) differs from the domain of opinion and doctrine: report comes from sensation and observation, in which error does not arise, whereas the holding of doctrinal positions proceeds by opinion and ijtihād, in which error may arise according to the obscurity of the matter and the subtlety of its evidence." Al-Ṭībī in al-Khulāṣa (p. 15) said: "A condition of tawātur is that the knowledge of the transmitters be necessary and grounded in something sensed; for had they reported to us the origin of the world, or something based on conjecture, no certain knowledge would arise from it." ↩
This is the first definition of mutawātir; what follows is a second definition of it, and their referents differ, as will be explained. Al-Ṭībī in al-Khulāṣa (p. 16) said: "The second condition for tawātur is that its two ends and its middle be equally numerous, so that collusion upon falsehood is impossible. This is why no certainty arose for us regarding the truthfulness of the Jews, despite their numbers, when they reported that Mūsā, peace be upon him, denied any abrogator of his sharīʿa; nor regarding the truthfulness of the Shīʿa in transmitting an explicit designation of the imāmate of ʿAlī, may Allāh be pleased with him, because the report was originally fabricated by individuals and circulated, with the transmitters multiplying only later in their own era." ↩
Al-Ṭībī, in the same passage of al-Khulāṣa, adds the requirement that the two ends and the middle of the chain be equally large in number, so that collusion upon falsehood remains impossible at every layer. ↩
Qafw al-Athar fī Ṣafw ʿUlūm al-Athar, p. 46. I (the author) say: it is thus known that the first definition is for a mutawātir which has only a single ṭabaqa, such as a marfūʿ ḥadīth in relation to the tābiʿūn, since between them and the Prophet ﷺ there is only the layer of the ṣaḥāba. The second definition is for a mutawātir which has two layers or more, such as a marfūʿ ḥadīth in relation to the atbāʿ al-tābiʿūn and those after them. Were one to say in their time, "This is a mutawātir ḥadīth," the second definition would apply, that is, the tawātur must run from beginning to end; whereas in the time of the tābiʿūn, that condition would not be needed. Reflect on this. There is therefore no conflict between the two definitions. And Allāh knows best. ↩
ʿIlm al-badīhī is also known as ʿilm al-yaqīn, ʿilm al-ḍarūrī and ʿilm al-qaṭʿī. [tr.] ↩
Mutawātir is of two types: mutawātir lafẓī, that which is mutawātir in wording, such as the ḥadīth "Whosoever lies against me deliberately, let him take his seat in the Fire"; and mutawātir maʿnawī, that which is mutawātir in meaning though not in wording, such as the aḥādīth on raising the hands in supplication. [tr.] ↩
Sharḥ Nukhbat al-Fikr, pp. 10–11. ↩
Khabar al-wāḥid is any narration that does not meet the conditions of tawātur. It yields presumption (ẓann), and has three sub-categories by number of narrators.
The Ḥanafīs classify narrators into four (or, on some accounts, five) groups, including the al-mastūr and majhūl categories with their five-case treatment.
Al-mudraj is the mixing of what belongs to one speaker with what belongs to another without indication. It falls into mudraj al-matn (more common) and mudraj al-sanad.
Al-shādhdh is that which a single narrator has transmitted alone, raising doubt in the mind of the critic; this is also the definition of al-munkar. Statements of the early imāms show the two are one.
